Justin Marler
Justin Marler is a musician originating from Chico, California, notably one of the founding members of seminal stoner metal band Sleep. He played in the band from 1990 - 1991 before becoming an Orthodox monk for many years. Biography Sleep (1990 - 1991) Marler was born in Chico, California in what he described as "white trash". Through his teens he got heavily into punk rock, elicited a straight-edge vegan lifestyle and played in a handful of unknown garage bands before moving to the bay area, befriending three kids from that area and coining the namesake of this new group: Sleep. Sleep began in late 1990 and performed throughout 1991, the quartet releasing Volume One in the process. However the nihilistic nature of Sleep's early material, along with life in the Bay Area, weighed heavily on Marler as he'd state in an interview with My Stateman: By the end of 1991 Marler had left Sleep with a visit to Israel before being led back to California that same year. He would join an Eastern Orthodox monastery in a moment to which he recalled: “I lost a lot of friends because I was a punk who did the opposite of what a punk should do, which is embrace organized religion.”. Life as an Orthodox Monk and The Sabians Marler turned up at St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in northern California and later was transferred to a monastery on a nearly deserted island in Alaska. Matt Pike stated he was on Kodiak Island "living with the fucking bears".Loudwire on YouTubeMatt Pike - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?, 2:35 into the video During his seven-year stint as a monk he founded the widely distributed Zine titled Death To The World (Also known as Death To The World: The Last True Rebellion. The first issue was printed in December 1994 featuring a monk holding a skull on cover. The hand-drawn bold letters across the top read “DEATH TO THE WORLD, The Last True Rebellion” and the back cover held the caption: “they hated me without a cause.” ... The first issue, decorated with ancient icons and lives of martyrs inside, was advertised in Maximum RocknRoll and brought letters from all around the world. Twelve issues were made in all throughout the original run. Death To The World gained mainstream press and had an impact as inspired by the youth counterculture of the 1990s. In 1995, Marler released a solo album via Catacomb Records entitled Lamentations. By sometime in 1999, Marler would return to California and get back in touch with Chris Hakius, leading to the formation of The Sabians, whose sound identify more with hard rock with slight hints of stoner rock than stoner metal or doom metal. The Sabians were active between 1999 and 2004, releasing two albums (Beauty For Ashes in 2001 and Shiver in 2003) via The Music Cartel. In a 2004 interview with Utter Trash, Marler would speak of the band's formation and their mindset: Relocating to Austin, Texas: Shiny Empire & Quick and The Dead In 2005, Marler would move to Austin, Texas and become relatively inactive from music while raising a family. In 2010 he would form an indie rock group known as Shiny Empire, whom largely played around the Austin area up until 2014. Marler he met bass player Scott Phillips, formerly of The Heavy Pets and Kudzu Towers. After a year long search for a drummer they came across John McCollum and added keyboard player Gil Craig in 2011. For live performances they enlist the help of session trumpet player Vincent Valdez to complete the sound. Shiny Empire's style of music is punk informed power pop. The group released one album in their tenure known as Sophia vs World (2011). In 2014, Marler formed a Christian pop-punk group known as Quick and The Dead. Quick and the Dead released their first album Hymns For the Apocalypse on 26 November 2015.Punk News Personal Life Despite his short tenure in Sleep, Marler still maintains a friendship with all of the members of the group to this day, with Al Cisneros stating that they talk more of religion and spirituality than music in a 2015 interview.The Metal Vault Marler currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Nova and five children, one of which from his first marriage. He remains active in various monasteries in south Austin. Bands * Sleep - Guitar, Vocals (1990 - 1991) * Monk John Marler - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals (1995) * The Sabians - Guitar, Vocals (1999 - 2004) * Shiny Empire - Guitar, Vocals (2010 - 2014) * Quick And The Dead - Guitar, Vocals (2014 - Present) Discography With Sleep *'Volume One' (1991, Tupelo Recording Company) With The Sabians *'Beauty For Ashes' (2001, The Music Cartel) *'Shiver' (2003, The Music Cartel) Misc. Releases *Monk John Marler - Lamentations (1995, Catacomb Records) *Shiny Empire - Sophia Vs. World (2011, Self-Released) *Quick and The Dead - Quick and The Dead (2015) External Links *The Unbroken Circle *Written Piece on Death To The World *Wikipedia page on Death To The World *Shiny Empire on Twitter *Written piece on Shiny Empire *Archived Shiny Empire Page *Archived Shiny Empire Video References Category:Artist Category:Sleep Category:Doom Metal Category:Sludge Metal Category:Alternative Rock Category:Punk Rock Category:The Sabians Category:Justin Marler Category:Power Pop Category:Gospel